Over the past several days, I have read countless articles about how Google Wallet’s purchase of SoftPay will allow them to come back from the dead however this is quite impossible… Why??? Because Google Wallet was NEVER dead to begin with. Many popular websites have been reporting that ApplePay has dealt several deathblows to Google Wallet however this is all blown out of proportion and amasses to nothing but click bait.
We owe a lot to the widely used, yet under-appreciated encryption system known as the GNU Privacy Guard, also known as GnuPG. Although GnuPG has been around for a very long time, it recently made it into the news as one of the tools used by Edward Snowden to encrypt emails containing sensitive information. What is hard to believe is that the GnuPG software stack was built and maintained by one single person, Werner Koch who makes his living giving the software away for free. Werner has unfortunately come under some hard times as donations have dried up and he is looking for help.
I tend to get very attached to my Android devices although I do not like to part ways with my devices, I would rather have them being appreciated by others rather then collecting dust on my bookshelf. I have sold my fair share of Android Devices over the past few months and have put together a comprehensive guide to selling your old phones and tablets.
In my personal life, I make it clear that I am a huge fan of Open Source Technology and often use Ubuntu GNOME as my daily driver. Over the past few years, I have taken a front row seat in watching Microsoft fall from it’s once mighty pedestal with the flop that was Windows 8. Granted Windows 8.1 did fix a lot of the issues reported by Windows user, it still feels like an operating system with an identity crisis. This comes at a time where Android and ChomeOS have both overtook the Tablet, Low Power and Educational Markets and could have been a serious death blow to the once mighty king.
I spend a lot of time online reading technical and security websites and am often baffled on the amount of misinformation I keep seeing. Several of these websites seem to promote several different third party products and services that are not really necessary in most cases. This is a modern version of the old defunct argument for Android Task Killers. Instead of promoting any third party products, lets look at three practical Android Security Tips that will keep you safe.
The Google Glass team made an announcement today that the Google Glass Explorer Program will be coming to an end within the next few days. This news does not come as a surprise to me as the Google has set the expectation from day one that the Glass Explorer program was essentially a public beta. As with all beta programs, they must come to an end. The news is very bittersweet to me as I was one of the first 8,000 Google Glass Explorers to get their hands on Google Glass nearly a year and a half ago.
What do Android Wear SmartWatches, Pebble SmartWatches, Fitness Trackers and Google Glass have in common? They all tether to your mobile phone and consume mobile data in the background. Most people do not realize it but the amount of data these devices silently consume in the background could possibly put you over your data limit and make you incur additional charges. How much data do these devices really consume in the period of a month?
Rooting an Android Phone is seen as a right of passage to adulthood within the groups I personally associate with. While rooting your Android Phone is not a necessity as we enjoy a lot more freedom than other mobile platforms, rooting does open up a whole new world of possibilities. I am encouraging all Android Users to share the reasons why they root on their favorite social media sites with the hashtag “#WhyIRoot”. Here are the reasons that I personally root my devices.